Sunday, May 23, 2010

It’s been a few years since I’ve been to Atlantic City and there couldn’t have been a better way to get reacquainted than a celebration of a friend’s birthday hosted at The Borgata, with a little Caesar’s Sex and the City partying sprinkled in.

Gail and I have been friends for more years than I care to mention and she was celebrating a milestone birthday of which she doesn’t care to mention. We gathered on the Jersey Shore with her family at The Water Club Hotel in Atlantic City. I had been to the Borgata years ago after its renovation and it had always impressed me with its modernly elegant style. The Water Club is a magnified extension of that classiness, as only the Borgata can do it. The rooms are large and contemporary, with extra features like flat screen TVs and large enclosed showers. As nice as they were, however, we were not about to spend much time in our rooms.

Dinner was at Fornelletto, an eclectic combination of Northern and Southern Italy. After a long day of flying and driving I thought I would get a little extra energy with the Espresso Martini and I wasn’t disappointed in the taste or the awakening. We started the meal with a selection of appetizers. All were tasty, but I especially recommend sampling the Mozzarella Di Bufala, delicious fresh mozzarella accompanied with your choice of items like Avocado and Moroccan Lemon, Sicilian Fig and Tapenade or Eggplant Caponata. Our table had an assortment of entrees that were all good, but mine seemed to be the biggest hit -- Fazzoletti, a crepe like pasta filled with fontina cheese and topped with asparagus.

After dinner our party split up between the Dennis Leary “Rescue Me” show at the Borgata and the Sex and the City Party at Caesar’s Dusk. I went with the birthday girl and her sister to the latter and wasn’t disappointed in the club or the company. Hosting the party was Gilles Marini. Whether you know him from Dancing with the Stars, Brothers and Sisters or the first Sex and the City movie as Samantha’s sexy showering neighbor, if you’ve seen him you aren’t soon to forget him. He was a gracious host and we definitely enjoyed our visit with Gilles.

Dusk was also an experience not to forget. I was able to tour Caesar’s newest club while it was quiet and experience it when the crowd came in. It is quite impressive from the well-equipped and super modern bathroom (that they designed to never have a line, and succeeded) to the spectacular lighting and seating (I LOVE the “pocketbook draws” so you can dance without worrying about your belongings). You can even go from Dusk to Dawn, the quieter downstairs area that leads directly to an outdoor patio on the boardwalk.

One club is never enough for a birthday celebration so it was back to Borgata to check out their offerings. The nightlife at Borgata is so popular it has its own website so I did my best to check out as much as possible. First up was mur.mur, where Samantha Ronson, even more well known for her spinning talent than her escapades with Lindsay Lohan. Though I was initially worried that we’d be uncomfortable in a room full of 20 somethings, the music mix from Neil Diamond to Foreigner to Hip Hop made all ages feel at home, but we still had another club to check out.

Mixx is more of a high-energy dance club and certainly bigger than mur.mur. It was there we danced for hours. Upstairs there is more seating and VIP areas, where we met up with one of many bachelor party groups who enjoy the Borgata nightlife and watched the massive crowd partying below until it was near dawn.

My Atlantic City fun is far from over. I’ve had my carb load – Borgata's blueberry stuffed French toast is yummy – and I’m off in a little while to check out The Water Club's Immersion Spa for some wind down time before I head over to Caesar’s to stay at their hotel, and see some more of their nightlife options. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it!